Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen took his ninth victory of the season on the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Dutchman acquired a one-place grid penalty after qualifying on pole however took the lead from Mercedes’ George Russell firstly.
McLaren have been unable to seal the constructors’ championship title, and the battle with Ferrari will go all the way down to the wire within the final race of the season.
BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson solutions your questions going into this weekend’s season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Is Lewis Hamilton’s poor qualifying kind a priority for Ferrari, having let go Carlos Sainz, whose performances have been stable these days? – Thomas
Ferrari workforce principal Frederic Vasseur was requested this query after the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.
He stated: “By no means. Take a look on the 50 laps he did in Vegas, beginning P10, ending on the gearbox of (winner George) Russell. I’m not nervous in any respect.”
There isn’t any doubt that Hamilton has not had a fantastic closing season for Mercedes.
There have been highs – two wins, together with an excellent drive on the British Grand Prix, and the climb up by the sector at Las Vegas talked about by Vasseur are apparent ones.
However the reality he has been comprehensively and his basic struggles with the automobile, have been a shock. And nobody – not Hamilton, not Mercedes – appears to actually be capable of clarify why Hamilton has has had these issues.
What’s sure is that he has merely not received on with this yr’s Mercedes automobile, which he finds unpredictable, and he’s not been ready to deal with its idiosyncrasies in addition to Russell.
How Hamilton will get on at Ferrari subsequent yr alongside Charles Leclerc shall be one of many key narratives of subsequent season.
Is it not about time some credit score be given to George Russell’s qualifying performances? Aren’t they the reason for Lewis Hamilton’s doubts? – Stewart
George Russell definitely deserves credit score for his qualifying performances, and his performances normally.
Even earlier than this yr, Russell was mainly a match for Hamilton in qualifying in 2022 and 2023, and this yr he has comprehensively crushed him.
Nobody in F1 doubts that Russell is among the out-and-out quickest drivers on the grid, nor that he’s a number one mild of what you would possibly name the ‘new’ era of stars together with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.
However Hamilton’s struggles this yr are, most would say, a bit separate to that.
Neither Hamilton nor Mercedes can correctly clarify simply why Hamilton is struggling a lot this yr in contrast with Russell. However it might’t be straightforward going by a yr with a troublesome automobile when you realize you might be leaving on the finish of the season.
With every part wanted to place a workforce collectively and design and construct a fancy F1 automobile, can Cadillac actually produce a aggressive automobile for 2026? – Clifford
When Method 1 initially rejected what was on the time a joint bid from Cadillac and the US-based Andretti organisation in January, one of many causes they gave was the unlikelihood of the workforce being aggressive.
F1 has since modified its tune. And the important thing distinction in F1’s view on the undertaking is that it’s now being offered as a manufacturing facility entry from Normal Motors, Cadillac’s dad or mum firm.
All the identical, most of the necessities of the brand new workforce are the identical, when you drill down into what it’s.
It however is now being referred to by a distinct title, TWG, and co-founder Michael Andretti himself is now not concerned.
And the automobile is being designed by the identical workforce that has been working for Andretti at Silverstone for a while. That is beneath the management of former Renault F1 bosses Pat Symonds, Rob White and Nick Chester.
One key distinction is that the brand new workforce is not going to be utilizing a Renault engine when it makes its debut in 2026.
It nonetheless wants a buyer engine to plug the hole earlier than the bespoke Cadillac engine is prepared – most likely by 2028 or so – however that’s now more likely to be a Ferrari.
In concept, Cadillac has the identical risk to provide a aggressive 2026 automobile as another workforce – they’ve the identical entry to the principles as anybody else.
The FIA appears to be in full shambles – with the particles error within the Qatar Grand Prix the most recent subject. Can F1 stress for Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s removing? – Jonathan
The quick reply to this query is is not any. The FIA president is voted in by the FIA member golf equipment in an election each 4 years – the following one is in December 2025.
Ben Sulayem is anticipated to face once more, and for the time being there isn’t a apparent candidate to face towards him, though there are murmurings that a minimum of one particular person will attempt.
Having stated that, there may be severe concern inside F1 – each at Liberty Media and among the many groups – as to the best way the FIA is being run for the time being, and the variety of senior individuals who have ended up leaving this yr, a technique or one other.
on Sunday, when he stated: “It might have its personal actuality present of what’s taking place for the time being.
“All of us stakeholders want to keep in mind that we have to defend this holy grail of a sport and do it with duty and accountability and transparency. It doesn’t come throughout like that.”
How can Max Verstappen battle within the Qatar dash race however then qualify on pole place for the grand prix? – Jack
This comes all the way down to automobile set-up. R and after some modifications between the tip of the dash and the beginning of qualifying.
The impact of those modifications shocked even Verstappen himself, who stated: “I additionally did not anticipate that. I imply, we did change a bit on the automobile, however I by no means thought it could make such a swing in efficiency.”
At Mercedes, issues went the opposite approach. Russell was aggressive within the dash however not so within the grand prix.
It is an instance of how delicate trendy F1 vehicles are. A small change can take them out and in of what’s often known as the ‘set-up window’, and as soon as out, it might have a giant impact on efficiency.
How do F1 drivers recover from jet-lag? It is not straightforward flying throughout time zones, but they’re consistently travelling. Are they only used to it? – Dave
F1 drivers are elite-level athletes with unbelievable ability, however they’re nonetheless human beings, they usually get affected by jet-lag like everybody else.
So, in Las Vegas, for instance, Carlos Sainz stated this concerning the huge time-zone shift between there and Qatar: “It’s all the way down to the health that you’ve got gathered in the course of the first a part of the yr and maintaining your self match and wholesome.
“It is going to be fairly a shock to the physique, however Should you’re match, you are wholesome, and you’ve got managed to maintain your self heat right here, do not get any colds, take melatonin each time it’s important to take melatonin, and fall asleep each time you might have to fall asleep, it ought to get it finished.”
George Russell added: “There’s not likely something you are able to do in as of late. Preparation wanted to occur beforehand. And it may be a problem for everybody, however we’re all in the identical boat.
“So nobody’s going to be on peak situation personally, but it surely’s nearly limiting the losses.”
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